Obstacles to Medication Adherence for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Qualitative Study in East China.

PURPOSE

To identify the factors impacting medication non-adherence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in China, and to provide a reference for effective interventions.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted between December 2020 and July 2021 in four tertiary hospitals in East China. A conventional content analysis method was used in data analysis to extract themes and sub-themes in IBD Patients with poor medication adherence.

RESULTS

The 10 participants included were those who were diagnosed with IBD at least 1 year and could provide rich information and express strong desire. Seven themes emerged after data analysis: (a) non-acceptance of disease; (b) Lack of cognition of disease; (c) medication beliefs; (d) perceived efficacy; (e) Forgetting and delays; (f) costs of medication; (g) personality and psychological factors.

CONCLUSION

Our data confirmed that in addition to comprehensive disease education and effective communication, medical staff should also pay attention to individualized factors, and develop effective response strategies for medication management support to reduce recurrence and control the disease.